Bengaluru: Rental bikes are becoming a menace as they are parked everywhere, including footpaths, across the city. Customers who hire these bikes do not bother whether it is a ‘No Parking’ zone or pavement and park them wherever they want.
There are a number of bike rental service providers in the city and anyone with a valid driving licence can rent a bike. But most of the time, these vehicles are left on busy roads, no-parking zones and on footpaths, troubling other vehicle riders and pedestrians.
The traffic police have informed their seniors about the menace and soon, they will start seizing vehicles parked in violation of traffic rules. A senior police officer said,
“Any vehicle parked in a no-parking zone is towed away and now these rented bikes are parked everywhere. If they are parked in parking spaces, then we do not have an issue, but if they are parked anywhere and everywhere causing hindrance then we will seize them.”
The officer said that recently, a rented bike was found parked on the pavement on KR Puram cable stayed bridge. “The public alerted the control room and it was towed away. We will soon call for a meeting with service providers and will tell them that such menace cannot be tolerated,” he said.
He said that a traffic police inspector recently questioned a customer as to why he was parking the bike on a busy street. The rider replied that the app showed him the location as where it should be parked. “If the app is showing locations without even checking if it is a footpath or no parking zone, then it is a serious concern. It will have to be discussed with the operators,” he said.
A senior staffer with one of the bike rental services said, “Our app is well integrated and does not ask customers to park vehicles in no-parking zones or footpaths. The app will also suggest parking spaces that have less vehicular movement. But at times, we get the feedback that the app shows parking locations that are not suitable and this happens rarely due to technical glitches. But we are aware that bikes can’t be parked everywhere.”
